noun

1. a coming into existence or use; beginning
2. parentage; birth; lineage
3. that in which something has its beginning; source; root; cause
4. Anat. the less movable of the two points of attachment of a muscle, usually the end attached to the more rigid part of the skeleton
5. Math.
   1. in a system of Cartesian coordinates, the point at which the axes intersect; base point where the abscissa and ordinate equal zero
   2. any zero reference point from which measurement begins

Etymology: ME origyne < MFr origine < L origo (gen. originis) < oriri, to rise: see orient